The Grackles waiting to eat at the bird feeders. They swoop in like one big cloud and the place is submerged in Grackles.

The place was buzzing with excitement and preparations were going on to view the eclipse later today. The only drawback was that it was a cloudy day, and we may not get to see very much.  

We harnessed up and went out walking, but we did not go far and when we got back, brought out the bird feeders as we usually do. There was a lot of preparation work ongoing all around us, like putting up sun canopies and bringing out tables and chairs as many people from the camp were expected to attend.  

I took the dogs back home and then went out to see if I could be of help anywhere and found a couple of things to do like helping to put up canopies and such. Special thanks go out to Donna, BJ, Peggy, Jeff, and Terri for doing a lot of the work plus of course Daniel and Malinda with their organizing skills. 

With the outside preparation work ongoing, some of the groups were inside the Commons and were preparing food for the guests and serving them as they came in for it. 

The weather, although not raining, was cloudy and threatened to spoil the event but luckily, through the breaks in the clouds, Nature was performing another of her miracles. We all had specially tinted glasses for the event so as not to damage our eyes although watching was spasmodic as the clouds moved in and out. We did get to see it all and there was a hum of excited chatter as the event progressed. 

It took a little over six hours from the start to the actual full eclipse and then the decline. It went dark and still as everything came to a stop as though Nature knew something special was happening. This will be the only full eclipse to happen in my lifetime as the next one is expected seventy or so years in the future. 

We sat around and ate hamburgers and drank beer as a part of the celebration. Then the party broke up after helping to break camp by bringing in the canopies and putting them away and finding the owners of the different chairs that had been loaned for the event. 

When we were finished, we sat around drinking beer and talking, all more than a little overawed by what we had just witnessed. For all his grandiose thoughts and ideas, event like this makes us realize how small and insignificant man really is… 

Written April 8, 2024, read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com